In 2020 and 2021, Virginia became a significantly better place to work. Over the last decade, we have often been named best state for business but Democrats made sure that we were also a great state for workers. Under Democratic leadership, we went from the worst state for workers up to #23 according to Oxfam America. When workers have a living wage, strong benefits, and a voice at work through their union, we have a stronger, more resilient economy for everyone. Virginians and Americans are forming and joining unions in record numbers. Yet, so many don’t even have the right to join a union. We will continue to work to ensure that every hard-working Virginian who wants to join a union has the right to do so.
We raised the minimum wage to $12.50 per hour. Instead of staying at the national minimum, Virginia is moving toward a realistic living wage for many parts of the Commonwealth. Unfortunately, this is still far too low for Northern Virginia, and we should consider allowing localities to set a local minimum higher than the state minimum.
We repealed the ban on collective bargaining for local government employees, joining 47 other states and DC in allowing hard-working public employees to have a seat at the table. Since we changed state law to allow it, localities representing millions of Virginians have passed local ordinances and resolutions to allow their employees to bargain for quality public services and good union jobs.
We allowed local governments to enter project labor agreements. These agreements ensure that projects funded with taxpayer dollars are completed professionally to high standards on time and under budget.
To continue making Virginia a better place for workers, we must:
- Enact laws to ensure that women are paid equally for equal work
- That our front line workers such as healthcare and grocery workers receive sick leave
- That all Virginia workers have the ability to secure some form of paid family leave for family emergencies
- That individuals who benefit from union-negotiated contracts pay their fare share of union fees and expenses that led to that contract
- Create enhanced civil penalties for employers that engaged in wage theft
- Create enhanced civil remedies for employers who misclassify workers to avoid paying such workers benefits or paying taxes